Rutgers' football team and the rest of its athletics program will have a new conference affiliation with the Big Ten. / Frank Victores, US Presswire

by Keith Sargeant, USA TODAY Sports

by Keith Sargeant, USA TODAY Sports

Here are 14 words not even the most optimistic Rutgers sports fan could've dreamed of reading from the head of the athletics department when the conference landscape drastically changed 14 months ago:

"There's no better place for Rutgers to land then in the Big Ten Conference,'' said Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti, putting an end to nearly two years of uncertainty as he stood at the Hale Center podium after the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors announced unanimous approval Tuesday for Rutgers to join the nation's oldest and most prestigious league.

A day after the University of Maryland defected the ACC to join the Big Ten, Rutgers officially faxed its application for membership to the Big Ten's Chicago offices. Three hours later, that application was accepted.

Not long after the fax rolled through, Pernetti called Mike Aresco to notify the Big East Commissioner of Rutgers' defection. While Rutgers is contractually obligated to pay a $10 million exit fee and remain in the league through the 2014-15 season, the university is expected to negotiate a way out to begin Big Ten play in 2014.

In a statement, Aresco expressed disappointment in Rutgers' decision and bid farewell to the New Jersey school that had been a member for football since 1991 and for all sports since 1995.

"They have been a valued member of the conference for many years,'' Aresco said. "We realize that conference realignment is currently a fact of life in college sports. We remain committed to, and confident in, the continued growth and vitality of the Big East Conference.''

Fourteen months ago the Big East was in tatters, reeling from the defection of Pittsburgh, Syracuse and TCU and scrambling even more six weeks later when West Virginia left. Through it all, Rutgers was left with the prospects of helping the Big East regroup while quietly touting itself as a squeaky clean, academically-sound program in the heart of the media capital of the world.

"We never felt for one second that we would be left behind,'' Pernetti said. "I think today is just a validation of that. This place has got too many assets and knowing how the landscape was changing and where the assets were valuable, there was no chance that we were not going to be part of the future.''

When he was hired as Rutgers' athletics director on Feb. 26, 2009, Pernetti talked about his ability to cultivate relationships as an asset that will help him move the athletics department forward. On a day that will forever change Rutgers' athletics department for the better, Pernetti conceded Tuesday's announcement was long in the making.

"I've been the athletics director for almost four years,'' Pernetti said. "There wasn't a day that went by when I was here that I didn't work on this. And before I got here I spent a lot of time thinking about how it could be accomplished. So every single day, whatever I could contribute to the process to make sure that we were well positioned as an institution -- as all the realignment took shape -- that's really what it takes to get something like this done.''

Pernetti said the value the Big Ten brings for Rutgers is immeasurable.

"The biggest concern fans and constituents have is stability,'' he said. "This secures our stability in athletics forever. The financial resources go without saying. I think the Big Ten has done a great job creating resources for their schools that allow them to provide a different kind of experience. And also run a different kind of department where surpluses are an investment into the university. That's the dream I always planned to get to when I came here.

"The other piece is exposure. Recruiting is about exposure as anything else. Football has the visability. But men's and women's lacrosse, soccer, this provides them a platform where I believe they'll be able to recruit more effectively. They'll be able to bring more good people to the programs.''

He said at no point during the 14 months since the Big East began to unravel did he lose hope that Rutgers would be on the outside looking in.

"I remember talking to certain athletics directors in other conferences at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, everybody is trying to share information to figure out what was going to happen next. It was more exhausting then frustrating,'' he said. "I felt very strongly that all the things that we built in athletics coupled with the profile of this place, we would not be left out under any circumstances.''